Awesome Style: Mission For Change
by yellow blaze
Summary: HumanAU: Gilbert is making his way through his freshman year, no sweat. Acing his classes, has awesome friends, made two more awesome friends who just transferred in. Too bad the chest pains won't go away, but hey, they're nothing serious right? Nothing that unawesome would ever happen!
1. The Redheads

To anyone who may be reading this and may find it familiar/similar to another story on this site:

This is a re-write of a set of stories that I had put up a few years ago. But in the past few years, my writing style has changed, and those stories were so full of grammar/continuity issues, so I am opting to rewrite them out. Once I have them started, I will be more than likely removing the old ones.

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"Alright!" Gilbert pumped his fist in the air, "Time to make this another awesome day!" He grinned and pushed open the school doors, making his way through the crowded hallway. Freshman year halfway over, no sweat~ _Everybody and all their constant unawesome complaining, what difference does that make?_ He shrugged and looked around at the familiar faces, trying to spot a friend or two among them. _Live for the moment~_

Not even the stupid pain in his chest (must have been training too hard in gym) was going to keep him from making this another awesome day! He passed by his locker, not bothering to stop since he was already carrying his textbooks and notebooks in his backpack.

"This is stupid."

"Where the bloody hell is our first class at?"

The albino paused, hearing an unfamiliar accent, and glanced over his shoulder to see two redheads standing by the wall, both of them frowning at a piece of paper. _What the crap? Did we get two transfer students or something?_

"Why can't they make this easy to navigate?" The one on the left flipped the paper sideways, "Are we even looking at this the right way?"

 _…Should I help?_ Gilbert looked around him, but everyone else seemed to be giving walking as far away from them as possible in the narrow hallway. _Huh? They're not poisonous, geez._ Gilbert rolled his eyes and approached the two. _Guess it's up to the awesome me to get them to their first class!_ "Yo. You guys need help or something?"

"Hm?"

 _… And I thought those pictures of vati showed_ _ **him**_ _as unfriendly._ Gilbert raised an eyebrow at the scowl on the one's face, "Help." He repeated flatly, pointing at the map they were holding, "Did you want help finding your first class?"

"Oh, that's nice of somebody to offer." The other one spoke up, "I was about to give up and skip the damn thing. Where the hell is room 205?"

"Up those stairs and to the right." Gilbert pointed towards the stairwell nearest them, "Any number that starts with 2 is on the second floor."

"Why couldn't they say that?" The first redhead scowled at the map, "Great, lemme mark that one, then where's room 109? That's second class."

Gilbert made a face. _What grade are these guys in?_ _They're all over the place._ "Back on this floor. If you come back down those same stairs, just keep going up this hallway, it'll be on your left. That's also my second class though, so I can hang out outside the door so you know which one to go in."

"They don't have a number on the door?"

"Not on that one." Gilbert shrugged, "It keeps falling off for some reason."

"Great. Stand outside so we can find the damn room. Hopefully we can find our third class then."

Gilbert waved the two off as they headed up the stairwell, both of them still muttering under their breath. _Just where did they come from?_ He shrugged and went down the hallway, making his way towards his first class. _Have to remember to wait for them outside of the second class…_

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* * *

Gilbert rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling as his first bell teacher tried (unsuccessfully) to get someone to answer the math question. He raised his hand, offering a grin, and the teacher sighed, "I know _you_ know the answer, Gilbert. Is there anyone else paying attention?"

He shrugged and put his hand back down, earning a few snickers from his classmates around him. "Can't say I didn't offer." Gilbert leaned back in his chair, waiting for someone to finally give the teacher the answer. _This isn't even that hard, people. Come on already._

"We've been covering this chapter for the last week and a half!" The teacher put both hands on her hips, "Come on now! Feliciano, how about you?"

"Uhmmm…"

 _Strike one._ Gilbert grinned, watching the Italian shake his head fervently.

"Yao?"

"S-sorry…"

 _Strike two._ Gilbert tapped his fingers on the desk, and raised his hand again, still attempting to answer for her. _Let me answer so we can move to the next part already!_

The teacher frowned, "I am not covering another thing on this syllabus, until somebody _besides_ Gilbert, answers me!"

Gilbert lowered his hand again and sunk lower in his desk, propping his legs up on the surface, "Fine then. Wake me up when we start the next part."

"You could probably sleep through the next three tests, and still have a higher grade than the rest of your classmates." The teacher scowled at the rest of the room, "What is so hard to understand about this? Pay _full_ attention up on the board now!"

Gilbert grinned as the teacher started writing out the problem in steps on the board. _Not my fault everybody else isn't paying attention._ He spotted Feliciano staring at him, "What?"

"How do you know any of this…?" Feliciano cried in a whisper, "This is really hard!"

"No it's not. It's super easy. Just pay attention." Gilbert pointed at the board, and redirected his attention the ceiling, counting the tiles one by one. _No point in listening to this crap when I know how to solve it._

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* * *

"Gilbert."

The albino paused, about to exit the room, when the teacher called after him, "Ja?"

"Would you consider a higher math class?"

"Huh?" Gilbert tilted his head, "What, a math class for a different grade you mean?"

"You're excelling in this course, and everyone is way behind you in terms of understanding this math lesson. It doesn't make much sense for you to be in a class where you're not learning anything. I want you to try and attend the sophomore math class tomorrow." The teacher wrote out a note and handed it to Gilbert, "See how you do in that one."

Gilbert glanced at the paper with a raised eyebrow but shrugged, "If you say so, but good luck with the rest of these people." He exited the room, leaving the teacher to heave a heavy sigh as he left. _Higher math course?_ Gilbert glanced at the room number she had left on the note for him. _Oh… this is the class that those two redheads were going to first. Hey cool, I can be in their class!_ Gilbert grinned and leaned against the wall outside his second classroom. Maybe it wouldn't be so terrible. He might actually learn something new for once.

"Gilbert!"

It took all the manners he'd been taught by his mother to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Gilbert turned his head to stare at the female who'd come jogging over to him, "What?"

"A bunch of us were going to the movies after school! I just wanted to ask if you'd be interested in coming along?" She beamed up at him, hugging her textbooks to her chest.

 _Not hardly._ Gilbert glanced over his shoulder, looking for any sign of the redheads, but they had yet to come into sight. "Who all is going?"

The female tapped a finger to her chin looking thoughtful for a moment, "Antonio is…"

 _Antonio is okay._ Gilbert looked back at her curiously.

"Feliciano…"

 _Pass._

"…and Roderich!"

Gilbert raised an eyebrow, "Then I should pass. You know full well that Roderich and I don't get along. And how did you get him to agree to go to the movies anyway?" The albino snickered at the thought of Roderich sitting through an entire movie. _That'd almost be worth going just to hear him complain._

"I can convince Roderich to go anywhere~" The brunette grinned at Gilbert, "Come on and join us! You two can get along for one night!"

"He's not thinking you two are going on a date, is he? He's going to be mad that you're inviting other people." Gilbert shook his head in disbelief, "Nein, Elizaveta. I'm going to sit this one out."

Elizaveta huffed and puffed her cheeks out, "Oh come on! It'll be okay!"

 _I notice she's not answering my question._ Gilbert rolled his eyes, keeping his gaze on the stairs, waiting for the transfer students to appear. _I wish they would hurry up already._

"What happened to the always-looking-for-fun-Gilbert?" Elizaveta teased.

"He stops at going out of his way to annoy somebody." Gilbert said flatly, "I'm not coming. You go to the movies. And do Roderich a favor by retracting your invitation from Antonio and Feliciano."

"Roderich won't mind having a couple extra people along!" Elizaveta huffed.

"You said that the last time. And ja, he did mind. He minded quite a bit if I recall correctly, in fact, he minded so much, he _left_." Gilbert shook his head, "Take no for an answer, would you?"

"Terrific. You did wait for us."

Gilbert looked back over his shoulder and found the two redheads (somehow looking more annoyed than they had this morning) standing there, "Oh hello."

"Hm? Who's this?" Elizaveta tilted her head, looking at the two strangers.

"Allistor."

"Reilly."

Gilbert raised an eyebrow at the fact that they had introduced each other rather than themselves. _Well that can get confusing. Math class will be a lot of fun!_ The albino's face brightened at the thought of a more entertaining class.

"Twins, huh." Elizaveta said flatly.

"Yeah, what the hell is your point?" Reilly glared at her, "Look, lady, in case you didn't notice, we're already having a bad day, so take any smart comments you might be thinking of making, and leave."

Gilbert gave a sideways glance towards Elizaveta, but was surprised to see the brunette just huff and walk away, "That takes talent. Not many people I know can get the last word with her."

"You promised mother that we would be on our best behavior." Allistor gave a look towards Reilly, "Now what kind of behavior was that?"

"I was polite. I didn't tell her to shove off, did I?" Reilly made a face.

 _Not in so many words, you didn't._ Gilbert looked back towards the twins, "What grade are you guys in anyway? Ninth or tenth?"

"Tenth." Reilly said flatly.

"…Then why do you have a freshman class?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow at them, "That seems rather odd."

" _Apparently_ they didn't have a class that was equal to this one at our last school, so we had to take some aptitude test for it. And this is where we wound up." Reilly motioned to the classroom with an air of sarcasm.

"… At least you didn't wind up in a remedial class." Gilbert commented.

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* * *

"… boring as hell."

Gilbert snickered behind his hand as the redhead behind him buried his face in his hands. He glanced off to his left and spotted Roderich carefully writing in his notebook, looking up at the board now and then. _How the heck did Elizaveta start dating him anyway?_

"Who can tell me the answer?"

Gilbert looked back to the board, eyes scanning the question for a moment, before he raised his hand, grinning when the teacher looked at him.

"Somebody _besides_ Gilbert."

"Why does every teacher say that?" Gilbert gestured with both arms, "Seriously! Just let me answer!"

Roderich gave the albino a funny look, but went back to writing his notes down.

"Mr. Kirkland."

Gilbert noticed Roderich lifted his head again to look around the classroom in confusion. _Who the heck is he looking for?_

"Which one?" Reilly asked dryly.

"What genius decided to put both of you in the same room?" The teacher heaved a heavy sigh, "Fine, you." He motioned to Reilly, "Can you answer this?"

"If you mean the question you just asked, probably the _genius_ down in the office." Reilly snapped, "And to answer your second question, of course I can't bloody answer it. I just got here, how the hell am I supposed to know what you're talking about?"

Gilbert put both hands over his mouth, trying extremely hard to not just burst out laughing.

"Temper, Reilly~" Allistor grinned at his brother, "You're losing it already~"

"Yo, teach, let me answer!" Gilbert looked hopefully up at the teacher, "I can totally answer!"

"I know you can." The teacher said flatly, but ignored him and turned to look at the rest of the room, "Mr. Edelstein!"

Gilbert rolled his eyes as Roderich lifted his head up again from the notebook. _Oh this should be good._

"An answer to the question on the board, if you _please_." The teacher shot a nasty look towards Reilly and stalked back to the front of the room.

"What the hell was that look for?" Reilly whispered.

"Reilly." Allistor hissed, " _Temper_!"

Gilbert scribbled the answer down on a piece of paper and flung it at Roderich, who had frozen (once again) when the teacher called on him.

Roderich spotted the paper on the floor and leaned over to pick it up, briefly reading what was on it before his face turned red, "Uhm…"

"Thank you. Now for the rest of you, was that really that difficult? I want everybody paying attention up here!" The teacher hit his hand on the board, "This is simple economics!"

"I'll show you simple." Reilly snapped.

"Oh here we go." Allistor's voice groaned from behind Gilbert.

Gilbert watched in shock as a textbook went flying through the air and hit the teacher on the back of the head, "…"

Across the room, Roderich dropped his pencil in shock, staring at the textbook that was now on the floor.

"Who threw that?" The teacher spun around, "Stand up, now!" He glared at the row Gilbert was sitting in, "I know it was somebody in this row! This is the only row I'm standing in front of!" He stalked down the row of desks, checking the top of each one for a textbook.

Gilbert watched the book that had been on the floor at the front come back down the aisle past his desk. _I wonder how he does that…_ He shrugged to the teacher as he stalked past.

"This is the most juvenile display of idiocy I have ever had from this classroom!" The teacher continued, "And if no one will come forward, then the entire class can sit in detention after school!"

"Are you kidding me?" Roderich whispered, and buried his face in his hands.

 _So much for the movies._ Gilbert rolled his eyes, but wasn't about to give up the redhead sitting behind him.

"Way to go." Allistor muttered.

"Brother, dear, you of all people should know that I cannot hold my temper."

Gilbert shook his head in silence as the teacher walked around putting detention slips on every desk, "Yo. Can I ask you a question?" He looked up as a slip was placed on his desk.

"What?" The teacher looked at Gilbert.

"I'm just curious… but…" Gilbert picked up the slip of paper and glanced at it, "If you know the textbook came from _this_ aisle… why are you giving detentions to everyone?"

"Because nobody is saying who the person is. If nobody is willing to speak up, then everyone will share the punishment of serving detention." The teacher snapped.

"So…" Gilbert turned the slip over in his hand, "How would the students in the front row know who threw the textbook? You could at least deduce that it had come from behind them. Are they all supposed to have eyes on the back of their head?"

"Don't push it." The teacher leaned on Gilbert's desk.

Gilbert crumpled up the detention slip and bounced it off the teacher, "I'm not serving a detention that you can't prove I had anything to do with. And nobody else in here is entitled to do so either." He heard some muffled snickering behind him and smiled up at the teacher, who was glaring daggers at him.

"If you don't plan on being here, I can inform the principal, Gilbert."

"I have no intentions of being here. I have plans after school, tough shit." Gilbert rolled his eyes, "So you go ahead and report my absence to the principal. Good luck explaining to him why I have a detention in the first place."

"Oh hey in that case." Reilly crumpled up his own slip and chucked it at the teacher as well, "I gotta finish unpacking. I don't feel like sitting here and entertaining you."

 _You threw that textbook in the first place!_ Gilbert waved at the teacher, "Are you planning on continuing the lesson at any point in time or is class over now?"

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* * *

"Is he really going to report us all to the principal?" Allistor raised an eyebrow at Gilbert as they were eating lunch.

"Everyone who put the slip down on his desk as they were leaving." Gilbert grinned and waved it off, "Don't worry about it. There's no way he can explain us all having detention."

"If you say so." Reilly glanced around the cafeteria, as if he was looking for somebody.

"Where are you guys from anyway?" Gilbert tilted his head.

"Scotland originally." Allistor answered, "But we lived in England as well. We've been hopping schools for the last couple years." He shot a glare at Reilly before continuing to eat his sandwich.

"… Why move all the way over here?" Gilbert looked at them in disbelief, "That's a heck of a distance to suddenly move!"

"Uhh…" Reilly tapped his fork against the tray in front of him, "Well dad and our little brother have lived here for some time now. We just moved here to be closer to them."

Gilbert made a face and continued eating.

"What?" Reilly stared at him in confusion.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm just… opposite situation I guess. Been living with just mein mutti for as long as I can remember. But we have no contact with vater at all."

"Don't you miss him?" Allistor asked.

"How can I miss what I don't remember?" Gilbert tilted his head, "I haven't needed him all this time, I'm not going to start needing him now!"

"We remember our dad." Reilly exchanged glances with Allistor, "… and little brother. But we haven't spoken to either one of them in some time now, so it'll be nice to hear their voices again!"

"If you haven't spoken to them, then how do they know you've moved here?" Gilbert took a bite of his salad and winced. _There goes that stupid muscle pain again._

"Uhhh… they don't." Allistor answered while Reilly shrugged, "We just kind of… up and moved here?"

"… Just like that?" Gilbert stared at them before brushing it off, "Not my business anyway. I'm sure you guys will be happy to see them again."

"Mother is thrilled." Reilly muttered, "But seeing as how we haven't spoken to them, I hope she doesn't have her hopes up that they're going to be the same as they were when they left."

 _Oh. So their dad and little brother left them… I wonder why…_ Gilbert pushed the salad around with his fork, suddenly losing his appetite. _Gah. Maybe I need to start stretching a bit more. That might help._

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* * *

Gilbert started jogging around the running track in gym class, trying to keep up with his friend running alongside him, "Man… why is this taking so much effort today?"

"Are you okay?" Antonio looked at his friend, worried, "It's not like you to be so out of breath already!"

"Ugh…" Gilbert started slowing down until he was only walking and promptly doubled over, "This running thing ain't happening today…"

"Whaaaat?" Antonio panicked and knelt down in front of Gilbert, peering forward so he could see the albino's face, "You're looking a little pale."

"I'm always pale." Gilbert said flatly.

"I mean paler!" Antonio held a hand up to Gilbert's forehead, "You don't feel warm though."

"Thanks. I think." Gilbert heaved a huge sigh and straightened back up again.

"Problem? Normally you two have cleared the first lap by now."

"Oh hey, Roderich!" Antonio waved cheerfully.

 _How slow were we going that Roderich caught up?_ Gilbert made a face, "Geez… we really _were_ going slow."

"What was _that_ supposed to mean?" Roderich exclaimed.

"Uhm…" Antonio looked back and forth between the two, "I-It's okay, Gilbert! We can just take it easy one day! The gym teacher knows we're not slackers by habit~"

"… slackers…" Roderich whispered.

Gilbert snickered at the offended look on Roderich's face, "I'm fine, I'm fine! I can totally keep up with you both!"

"I am not a slacker!" Roderich huffed.

"Ah, no! I wasn't calling you one!" Antonio cried, "I wasn't! I was just saying because the teacher is used to us running around the track faster than this, that's all!"

"Okay!" Gilbert hopped up and down, "Here we go!"

"Ugh. Have fun." Roderich shook his head, starting up his slow jog once again.

Antonio grinned, "We're not going to go super fast!"

Gilbert started up a few paces faster than Roderich, hearing the other male making some comment behind him before everything in his vision suddenly shifted. "Huh? Why is the world sideways?" Gilbert asked before feeling a sharp pain on the right side of his body, "Whoa!"

"AH!" Antonio came running back into view, "Gilbert!"

"What?" Roderich knelt next to Antonio, "What happened?"

"Whoa… everything suddenly went sideways." Gilbert blinked up at the clouds, "That was weird."

"Don't run then! Walk!" Antonio pleaded, "Or better yet, don't walk at all! I'm gonna go get the teacher!" He stood up and took off back the way they had come.

"… It's a nice day for cloud gazing." Gilbert commented, choosing to ignore what Antonio had just said. _What a totally unawesome way to end the day._

Roderich huffed and sat on the ground next to Gilbert, waiting for Antonio to get back, "Whatever keeps you awake. I'm not about to sit next to an unconscious person."

"Pft. I'm not about to pass out!" Gilbert grinned, "That would be totally unawesome."

"What's wrong anyway? Are you not feeling well?" Roderich asked, giving Gilbert a curious glance.

"Dunno. I felt fine." Gilbert folded his hands underneath his head so he had a makeshift pillow, "Except for this stupid chest pain anyway."

"Why didn't you tell the teacher that?!" Roderich exclaimed.

Gilbert grinned, "It's nothing, that's why! It's just from over-exercising yesterday! We were doing all that weight lifting!"

"You still should have mentioned it!" Roderich shook his head, "Honestly! What if something's seriously wrong?"

"Don't go worrying about me, Roderich. Your hair will start to match mine." Gilbert burst out laughing, "Nothing is wrong with me!"

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* * *

And the last reboot is underway! :D


	2. Something Completely Unawesome

Gilbert coughed a few times and let out an exasperated sigh. Ever since the episode in gym class the day before, his chest had been _nonstop_ hurting. But no way was he letting a little pain keep him from going to school. Even if mutti was dragging him to the doctor's office afterwards. Gilbert climbed up the steps to the second floor, heading for his new math class.

 _Boy I hope this is worth it._ Gilbert made a face. _If I was a little smarter, I'd probably act a little dumber._ Gilbert pushed open the classroom door, relieved to see that there was hardly anyone in there. Less people to be staring at him.

"Ah, you're Gilbert, I presume?" The teacher glanced up from his textbook.

 _Who the crap **reads** a textbook? And a math one at that? _ Gilbert nodded and waited for the teacher to tell him where he was supposed to be sitting.

"Uh… sit in the back corner for now. Hopefully the disaster twins don't distract you too much." The teacher made a face and started copying from his textbook onto the board.

 _Disaster twins?_ Gilbert raised an eyebrow but went to the seat that had been indicated to him. _Allistor and Reilly certainly know how to earn themselves a reputation on day one._ He grinned and sat down, only pausing when he realized he didn't have the textbook for this class. _Oh well. Either he'll give me one, or I can just try and absorb the information we get in class._

The redheaded twins came in shortly after, Allistor glanced at the board while Reilly raised an eyebrow at Gilbert, who grinned and waved at them. "Either we're in the wrong room… or you are." Reilly commented, pulling his chair out to sit down at the desk in front of Gilbert's.

"Nah. I got moved to this math class. Teacher said maybe I would learn something in this one." Gilbert made a face at the equation on the board, "So what are we learning anyway?"

"Wasn't listening yesterday." Allistor answered, dropping his textbooks onto the top of the desk (earning himself a disapproving glare from the teacher).

"I'd like to begin class, so if everyone could take their seats…" The teacher started, tapping a ruler on his desk a few times.

 _He's more polite than the teachers I normally have._ Gilbert stared at him in disbelief. _How come the upperclassmen get the nice teachers?_

"This problem…" The teacher motioned to the board, "Is a sample of what will be on your class final at the end of this year. I realize that's a long ways off, but looking at the progress this class is making… you all are a _longer_ ways off than you should be."

"Oh, just call us stupid. We all know you're thinking it." Reilly rolled his eyes, much to the amusement of his brother.

Gilbert glanced around the room, "… so… what you're saying is, we shouldn't know how to solve that yet?"

Reilly looked over his shoulder at Gilbert in disbelief, "Do _you_ know the answer? Because that is way more letters from the alphabet than should ever be in a math class."

"Ja. It follows the derivative rules, doesn't it?" Gilbert tilted his head in confusion.

"…" Allistor joined Reilly in staring at Gilbert in disbelief, "Then you go right ahead and tell the teacher what the answer is."

"No thank you. I don't want to end up in another math class." Gilbert sunk in his seat, "I'll just pretend I don't know how to solve it."

"Must be nice to just be that smart naturally." Reilly shrugged, looking back at the board, "I could stare at the textbook for hours and still not have a clue what you just said."

 _Come to think of it… I've never really had to study for a test either. Maybe I can just remember stuff better than other people?_ Gilbert frowned and tapped his pencil on the notebook.

"So starting off with the derivative sum rule…"

Gilbert grinned as Reilly shot him another look over his shoulder, "Hey what do you know, I was right!"

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* * *

"Why do we have to take two math courses?" Reilly had his head laying down on top of his desk, completely ignoring the teacher who was lecturing them on how to properly use a checkbook, "Seriously, who cares? Who even uses checks anymore?"

Gilbert spun his pencil around, watching one of his classmates moreso than the teacher who was now drawing a diagram of a check up on the board. _I wonder how the movies went last night… maybe I should ask him._ He scribbled out a note and flicked it two rows over to land on Roderich's desk, grinning when the male looked back at him in confusion.

"Are you passing love notes or something?" Allistor glanced at Gilbert out of mild curiosity.

"…" Gilbert turned his head slowly to look at Allistor in disbelief, "No. He's dating Elizaveta for one thing, and two, he's straight as a board."

Reilly lifted his head to cast a curious glance at Gilbert, "Didn't hear a word about you in that."

"I know I'm not." Gilbert grinned as Roderich's note came flying back, hitting him in the side of the head. "Geez he's got poor aim."

"No, I'm pretty sure that was on purpose." Allistor smirked, seeing the other male's face looked annoyed.

Gilbert glanced down at the note. _… How does he write in such tiny print?_ He picked up the paper and squinted at it, trying to make out the words, while Allistor started laughing behind him at the look on Roderich's face (which was turning a brighter shade of red upon seeing Gilbert squint at the paper).

 ** _-First of all, what business is that of yours? And secondly, it was fine._**

Gilbert raised an eyebrow to look back at Roderich. _What kind of person says it's none of my business and then goes and says how it was anyway? Geez, Roddy, if you're going to tell someone that, at least act like you mean it._ He scribbled an answer and flicked it back over again the instant the teacher had his back turned.

"Maybe Cupid has poor aim." Reilly leaned back in his seat and glanced at Allistor.

"That would explain a lot." Allistor commented dryly.

Gilbert looked up as the lights temporarily flickered off, only to come back on a minute later, "Whoa! Power outage!"

The teacher glanced to the wall as the phone started ringing, "Oh, one moment, class." He picked up the phone and talked into it for a minute, before turning to glance at the classroom, "Mr. Edelstein, can you meet the advisor outside of the student council room?"

"Ah! Of course." Roderich hastily stood up, grabbing his notebooks before making an exit from the room (but not before shooting a glare at Gilbert).

"Touchy." Gilbert commented with a grin.

"… Temper." Allistor said flatly.

"Hm?" Gilbert turned his head to Allistor in confusion, who was glaring at Reilly.

"That _was_ controlling my temper." Reilly responded, sounding just as annoyed as Allistor, "I didn't make the lights permanently stay out, now did I?"

 _… These two aren't normal, are they?_ Gilbert looked back and forth between the two. "Yo, if you're gonna make the power go out, save it for when he's doing a powerpoint. Those things are boring as hell."

"Oh don't encourage him." Allistor sunk in his seat with a groan.

Reilly grinned, "Can do~"

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* * *

 **Third Bell**

Gilbert pushed the macaroni around his plate, having suddenly lost his appetite after getting to the lunch table. _Ugh. This doesn't even **look** good. _ He watched as Allistor and Reilly sat down across from him, arguing about something.

"Two years. It was two years ago. Let it go." Allistor scowled at his twin and started stabbing the fish on his plate.

"If I could, don't you think I would have?" Reilly returned the scowl and glared at his own tray.

 _If I was feeling better, I'd probably ask what they were talking about._ Gilbert pushed his lunch from one side of the plate to the other, staring off into the distance while the redheads started eating.

"… Are you not hungry?" Reilly asked finally, after a few minutes of silence.

"Not in the least." Gilbert responded flatly, "Appetite flew off without any warning."

"That's not good." Allistor commented, between bites of fish, "Grandmum makes a better fish fry."

"I don't doubt it." Reilly shot a suspicious look at Allistor's plate, "Is it even fully cooked?"

"Frozen food is usually fully cooked. The question would be 'is it thaw?'" Gilbert continued staring off to a corner of the cafeteria, still pushing the macaroni around nonchalantly.

Allistor froze, mid-bite, and looked at Gilbert, "… You're joking right?"

"… no." Gilbert looked back at Allistor, "Why would I be joking?"

Reilly glanced down at his own lunchtray, "… is it all frozen food?"

"Not like they have a farm next door." Gilbert commented, "What were you guys expecting?"

"No clue, but I wasn't expecting a bloody tv dinner." Allistor scowled, but continued eating the fish anyway.

"Why can't they have actual cooks or something? We should bring this up to somebody." Reilly made a face, and started stabbing his meatloaf.

 _Good luck with that one._ Gilbert sighed and placed his fork down. _Guess I shouldn't protest the trip to the doctor's office so much. Maybe I can get medication for whatever bug this is._

.

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* * *

 **After School Hours: Evening**

"Why do none of these phone numbers work?!"

Gilbert listened to his mother frantically throwing apart the dining room kitchenette while he was laying on the couch in the living room. _Gott… of all the unawesome… stupid things to happen…_

"I will get a hold of him somehow!"

"Mutti… it's been like thirteen years. I'm sure he changed his phone number at some point." Gilbert commented dryly.

"Oh I know! I can call Roma, and get the number from him!" Gilbert's mother acted as though she hadn't even heard him and sent dashing through the room, "I'll get a hold of your father if it's the last thing I do!"

"That would make the whole endeavor rather pointless." Gilbert still didn't move, now listening to the sounds of his mother tossing everything out of her nightstand. _How many places does she keep phonebooks anyway?_

"Ah-ha!" The albino woman scrambled past again, running back for the house phone, "Alright, now to call this number and geeeeet…"

Gilbert raised his head to look back to the kitchen, mildly curious on who would be answering the phone _this_ time.

"Hello! Is there a Roma there?"

 _At least say the guy's last name, mutti._ Gilbert hit his head against the pillow in frustration. _Proper phone etiquette seriously._

"Oh, he's your dad. Wonderful."

 _How did mutti get the number to this guy's kid?_ Gilbert looked back to the kitchen in confusion.

"… Ah… not recently huh? Do you by chance have a phone number…? Oh I guess that would make sense. W-well, if you see him, could you tell him Myla called? Thank you!"

"… no good?" Gilbert asked.

"He said if he had his dad's number, he'd be calling it to give him a piece of his mind." Myla appeared in the doorframe, "I'm… not sure what that was about."

"That guy sounds like a winner." Gilbert gave a thumbs-up to his mother, "Good job, mutti. You tried."

"I'll get a hold of _somebody_! I know! I'll try your grandpa!" Myla's face brightened once more and she started rummaging through all the phone books again.

"… is he even going to pick up the phone?" Gilbert whispered, "I thought he didn't like mutti…"

"Here that one is!"

Gilbert listened to more keypad tones before his mother's bright and cheery "Hello~" followed. _She better hope that's **not** him._

"Is Mr. Beilschmidt there?"

Gilbert rolled over so he was looking at the ceiling. How… boring. _Funny… I always thought life would be exciting… like majorly exciting. I could go where I wanted after high school… see the world… and now…_ He looked back to the kitchen.

"… hasn't lived there in a few years now, huh?"

 _I'll be lucky if I live long enough to graduate high school._ Gilbert scowled. _How completely unawesome is this? Why me? Why can't it happen to someone who actually **lives** with their vati? Who actually has a **chance**? Why… me?_ He closed his eyes and listened to the long sigh from his mother in the kitchen.

"Okay… so that one's out, too…" Myla frowned, "B-but I'll find something!"

"… totally not awesome." Gilbert whispered.

.

.

* * *

And so it begins…


	3. Second Chances

Migraines are no joke. Knocked me flat for three days.

* * *

.

.

 **Timeskip from Thursday to Monday**

Gilbert rubbed the back of his head uncertainly as he made his way through the congested hallway. The weekend had been spent in the car mostly, as Myla drove around to every single place she knew (or could remember anyway), trying to find some contact that could reach the other parent. _Funny. She wasn't trying near this hard before now…_ Gilbert let out a quiet sigh. _I wonder if he even lives around there anymore?_

The town he had been born in was a good thirty minute drive from his home now, and that was only if the traffic was minimal and the lights cooperated. _And thirty minutes in a prone position is way too long._ Gilbert scowled. At least in the desks at school you could move around! In the car, there was only so many different ways to sit in those stupid seats.

"Oh it is not that big of a deal!"

Gilbert glanced to his left out of mild curiosity, and instantly spotted Roderich and Elizaveta arguing (again). _I wonder what it's about now?_ He was debating whether or not to cut in, but knowing the brunette, she would probably take the opportunity to ask him what he did over the weekend (and _nein danke_ not explaining that).

"If I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times, I do not like crowded places." Roderich snapped.

 _Oh. Is this still about the movies? Or maybe she's trying to drag him someplace else now._ Gilbert frowned. He didn't care much for crowded areas either (too many staring eyes), but he tried to just focus on his destination rather than the people around him.

"But the fair is only in town for another two days!" Elizaveta pouted and put both hands on her hips, "You can go enjoy a fair at least _once_ in your life!"

" _No_." Roderich hissed.

 _A fair?_ Gilbert tilted his head. Maybe he could talk mutti into going? _…She's still hellbent on finding vati though… and vati doesn't sound like the type to go to a fair._

"Oh for… Gilbert! Help me talk Roderich into going to the fair with me!"

"Huh?" Gilbert blinked, shaken out of his thoughts by Elizaveta tugging on his arm, "Wait what?"

"Oh geez." Roderich rolled his eyes and looked down the hallway away from the albino, muttering something else under his breath that Gilbert couldn't make out.

"I want to go to the fair!" Elizaveta repeated.

"So?" Gilbert tilted his head, "Then go."

Roderich let out a short laugh, quickly changing it to a cough at the look on Elizaveta's face.

"I can't convince Roderich to go with me!"

"Then go by yourself." Gilbert stared at her with a blank expression, "Or with someone else."

"Great idea. Take someone else." Roderich agreed hastily, "And leave me out of it."

Elizaveta made a face at Roderich before turning back to Gilbert, "Then how about…"

"Don't even ask me." Gilbert quickly held up both hands, "Not happening. I got family crap going on this week."

"… Family?" Roderich tilted his head in confusion.

"Oh are your parents planning a vacation?" Elizaveta watched Gilbert in interest.

"…" Gilbert glared at Elizaveta, not missing the sputtering cough from Roderich, "You'd think… after all these _years_ you would have remembered… that I have _one_ parent. And no. It's not a vacation. However, what it _is:_ is none of your business."

Roderich quickly looked away again, and Gilbert thought for a moment that Roderich had taken offense to his sarcasm, but upon second glance… Roderich looked closer to _laughing_ than anything else.

Elizaveta on the other hand… promptly stalked off down the hallway, complaining loudly about men and their tempers.

"Has she not looked in a mirror lately?" Gilbert scowled after her, "How rude!"

"Is everything okay with your mother?" Roderich asked, looking back at Gilbert after watching Elizaveta storm off.

"Ach, ja." Gilbert waved him off, "She's just in one of her 'reconnect with old friends' moods. Spent the weekend in the car mostly."

"Ugh." Roderich winced, "My sympathies for your back."

"Thank you." Gilbert grinned, "If you know of a good chiropractor around here, let me know~"

.

.

* * *

Gilbert groaned and stretched his arms above his head, praying to whoever was listening that this stupid speech would get itself started and done with sometime soon. "How annoying." He slumped in his seat, barely glancing at the male who was seated next to him. _And why did he sit with me anyway?_

Roderich was leaning on his armrest, drumming his fingers on the end of it, while glaring at the stage, "This had better be worth it."

 _He doesn't like movie theaters right? I wonder if he's fine in here?_ Gilbert shrugged to himself. Roderich was on the aisle seat, so he could always make a hasty exit if it came to that. _Depending on how long this drags on,_ _ **I'm**_ _going to be making a hasty exit._ "Who's supposed to be talking anyway?"

"If I'm remembering right, I think it's our new principal. The old one was… fired I suppose. Or stepped down, but I doubt he did so willingly."

"Oh. Great. So this is basically what we should have had at the _beginning_ of the year. Introduction, guidelines, rules and whatnot?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow as someone approached the microphone at the center of the stage.

"That would probably be a good guess." Roderich commented.

"Wake me when it's over." Gilbert propped his knees up on the seat in front of him and sunk lower to a more comfortable position.

"I would sooner let you sleep through your classes." Roderich huffed.

"Deal. That works, too!" Gilbert grinned at him, ignoring that the comment had been meant as a warning.

Roderich shot him a glare and returned his attention to the stage, "Don't expect me to fill you in on what you missed if you wake up halfway through this speech."

"Ach, please don't. I doubt it'll be anything important."

.

.

* * *

Gilbert blinked a few times, straining to keep his eyes open. And the absolute _nerve_ of the person sitting to his left! Roderich had fallen asleep about fifteen minutes ago, and was now using Gilbert's shoulder as a pillow (though Gilbert doubted that part was intentional). _All his talk of not letting me know what_ _ **I**_ _missed…_ Gilbert shot a glare at the top of Roderich's head. He could easily just shift his arm and wake the other male up but… _He doesn't normally fall asleep during things like this… he must be tired._

"… have different styles of teaching, not all of you may agree with every single one of them."

Gilbert let out a long sigh and focused what little of an attention span he had back on the speaker. _Blah blah… something about teachers?_

"Occasionally there's tempers that clash, personalities that clash… and students that wind up down in the office day after day…"

Gilbert glanced to his right and found that most of the other students around him were also fast asleep, or just staring at the ceiling. _I don't think there's a single person listening._

"After day." The principal continued, "There are some students in this room with a record of being down in the office that's longer than some seniors have. And _that_ is sad."

 _Wow. In half a school year there's freshmen who have more of a record with the old principal than seniors? What the heck?_ Gilbert raised an eyebrow. What kind of people did he have as classmates?

With a stifled yawn, Roderich sat up and blinked a few times at the stage, "… What did I miss?"

"Absolutely nothing." Gilbert commented dryly, "In fact, he's still on the same subject he was when you fell asleep."

"Ugh. Summarize, seriously. If you can't say it in twenty minutes, then it's probably not worth saying." Roderich groaned and slumped in his seat, much to Gilbert's amusement.

"Twenty minutes?" Gilbert grinned, "You would not make a very good teacher."

"I don't plan on becoming a teacher." Roderich huffed, "I'd rather do something more enjoyable with my life. I don't like high school as it is, why would I want to come back to it?"

"What's more sad is… that now after all that, I ask of you all, who was listening?"

"Huh?" Roderich blinked a few times, his face suddenly reddening.

"Don't worry, man. He lost like ninety-five percent of the room." Gilbert waved off Roderich's embarrassment with his hand.

The principal glanced around the room from where he stood on the stage, ""I say this to prove a point. If you cannot listen to someone who has authority over you, how do you hope to listen to those around you?"

Roderich looked at Gilbert with a guilty expression on his face, "S-sorry for falling asleep."

"Man, I'm telling you, don't worry about it." Gilbert made a face at him, "Seriously. It's not like he's going to be giving us a test on any of this."

"I'm willing to bet that there is not one person in here who can tell me what I said five minutes into what I was saying. If you can't spend more than five minutes listening to someone on a stage, how can you spend two minutes listening to someone in the hallway?"

"Huh?" Roderich looked back at the stage in confusion.

"How'd we go from listening to a speaker to listening to a conversation in the hall?" Gilbert blinked a few times and looked around, "Did we both just fall asleep?"

The principal gestured with his hands out to the students in front of him, "You're all teenagers. You all have your groups of friends, some smaller or bigger than others… but tell me, how many people in here, in the last week, have actually spoken to someone new? You spoke to someone you've never spoken to before? Show of hands?"

Gilbert and Roderich glanced at each other before looking around the room to see how many hands went up.

"I mean… technically. They just moved here, but it still counts right?" Gilbert raised his hand uncertainly.

"We had transfer students?" Roderich looked at him in surprise.

"Ja, two sophomores." Gilbert grinned, "They're really fun to be around!"

"That's actually more than I was expecting." The principal commented, "Good for you all who raised your hands. The rest of you are either too scared to raise your hands for whatever reason, or you just believe in sticking with your normal group of friends. Either one is fine, it doesn't much matter. But while you are talking to your friends in the hallway, in the classroom, or even on the way home… how many of you notice the people around you? The ones _not_ in your circle?"

Roderich made a face and sunk lower in his seat, "I don't even have a circle to begin with."

"Ach." Gilbert looked at him in sympathy and raised his hand again with a grin.

"Seriously?" Roderich made a face at him.

"Ja. You." Gilbert pointed at him with the other hand and gave a wide grin at the offended look on his face, "Well you just said you don't have a circle, right? If I'm talking to you, that means I'm talking to someone outside mine!"

"… I concede you have a point." Roderich sighed.

"Just think of your first class for instance. I know for a fact, that there are students in this school who have divorced or single parents, how many of you know someone in this auditorium now who does not have both parents to go home to after school?"

Gilbert looked up at his hand, looked at Roderich, shrugged, and left it in the air.

Roderich huffed and raised his own hand, "Well I can say I know _that_ much. You and Arthur both have single parents."

"Arthur…" Gilbert tilted his head, "Arthur…?"

"Kirkland." Roderich sighed, "The other person on student council with me?"

The principal nodded in silence as he glanced around the room at the few hands that were raised, "Those of you with your hands raised, how many of you have single parents yourselves?"

"…" Gilbert blinked a few times, keeping his hand raised, "Oh, what do you know. That's the same last name as the two transfer students. I should totally ask if they're related!"

Roderich rolled his eyes in annoyance, but kept his hand up, "What?" Roderich looked back at Gilbert in surprise, "Really? Maybe I should ask Arthur, too…"

" _All_ students with single parents, raise your hands."

"My hand is going to go to sleep." Gilbert scowled.

"Really!" Roderich huffed in annoyance.

The principal gave another wave of his arms out to the students in the auditorium, ""Again, proving my point. Some people, that did not raise their hands when I asked who knew someone with single parents, are even sitting next to those with their hands up. This is what I meant. You have grown up in an environment that teaches you to stay inside your comfort zone. You grow up talking to the same people and never look beyond that. People of habit."

"… Habits die hard." Roderich made a face.

"… Is he saying we're supposed to leave our comfort zones?" Gilbert frowned slightly.

"Ugh. There are some comfort zones I am not budging from." Roderich scowled and shook the arm that he had in the air, "Geez, I think I was losing feeling in it."

"On a more serious note, how many students in here know someone who tried to take their life?" The principal looked around the room once more.

Gilbert and Roderich stared dumbfounded at the principal on the stage. "How did…" Roderich started, stuttering slightly.

"What a topic change." Gilbert made a face, "Geez…"

"At least not many hands went up." Roderich muttered.

The principal glanced around the room before asking another question, "Now I can understand if you don't want to answer this, but how many people in here have actually tried?"

Gilbert folded his hands on his lap and watched the hands go up around the room, "… huh. We are a sad, sad graduating class of whatever."

"…Whatever?" Roderich echoed.

"Ja. Whatever year it is when we all make it out of here." Gilbert made a face, "Evidently some people are aiming to make it sooner rather than later."

Roderich looked at Gilbert horrified.

"What?" Gilbert tilted his head in response.

"Now _that_ is sad." The principal commented, "I can't even imagine how many more there are who just don't want to raise their hands. Nor do I want to know how many succeeded."

Roderich looked back at the stage again, the look of horror still on his face.

"…" Gilbert stared at the stage, a similar expression as Roderich's on his own face, "What the crap. I would think our teachers would tell us!"

"… Well… depending on the privacy of the family, they might not have." Roderich frowned.

"Imagine for one minute, if all those students who just had their raised were not here. If everyone in this room who had tried had succeeded, how much smaller your class year would be."

"… We'd all be closer right? There'd be a lot less people." Gilbert looked at Roderich.

"… Sadly, I don't think we'd be any closer." Roderich stared at Gilbert, "I don't think it would have changed a thing."

"Out of… curiosity." The principal waved both arms again, "How many students in here… have been in the hospital for a serious affliction, self-caused or otherwise?"

Gilbert let out a long sigh before raising his hand, "Unfortunately, I suppose that stupid collapse in gym counts for this crap."

"Ah, they did make you go to the hospital." Roderich frowned, "Did you get any results?"

"…" Gilbert glanced away from Roderich, "Ahm…"

"Hm?" Roderich tilted his head, "What was it?"

"Nothing." Gilbert shook his head hastily.

Roderich continued gazing at him with a questioning look on his face, but he didn't ask again, much to Gilbert's relief.

The principal looked around the auditorium again, "I'm probably going to regret asking, but of those of you who do _not_ have your hands raised, take a look around you, and raise your hand if you knew about at least _one_ of these people."

"You can totally put your hand up." Gilbert grinned at Roderich.

"I didn't know you were in the hospital until just now." The male shot him a glare.

"Ja, ja, but you know why." Gilbert continued grinning.

"Ugh, fine. If it will make you feel better." Roderich raised his hand with a huff.

The principal nodded before continuing, "A few people… so about half the room has their hands raised right now… your class year could have easily been half the size it is now. And none of you… would have noticed."

"…" Roderich slowly lowered his hand again, "This speech got really uncomfortable."

"Ja… but you have to admit…" Gilbert looked around the room while Roderich turned his head to look at him in confusion, "Everyone's paying attention now."

"I will admit that." Roderich sighed.

"I can pretty much guarantee, that out of everyone that does not have their hand raised, you might have _wondered_ for about five minutes, but then the thought would have left your mind. Either with the assumption that they moved or transferred, but never would this thought have occurred to you. …Of the students who had their hands raised… how many of you can _honestly_ say that you are still here, because of the actions of someone else?"

Gilbert made a scoffing noise and sunk lower in his seat. _I'm doubtless going to be in the hospital later, too, but if we can't find vati, then I guess I won't be here on the account of anyone else!_

Roderich glanced around the room out of curiosity as only a few hands went up, "… All those people who had their hands raised…"

"This is pathetic." Gilbert whispered.

"Those of you who have your hands up, more than I expected again honestly, how many of you are here because of the actions of someone else, from the most recent time you were hospitalized?"

Roderich watched in silence as every hand went back down, "… Uhm. What does this say about us?"

"What does this say about our so-called families?" Gilbert snapped, "Forget friends at this point, he said someone else, he didn't specify it had to be someone from school!"

"… Good point. Well. We're all headed for disaster." Roderich made a face.

"This…" The principal motioned to the whole room once more, "Is not only disappointing… it's _sad_. Because that means of all of you who had your hands up, you did not have a friend to help you, and you didn't even have a family member."

Gilbert crossed his arms and nodded, "Told you."

"Yes, I'm aware." Roderich sighed.

"So I ask again, who would have noticed?" The principal gestured to the room once more, "Who can honestly stand up and tell me, you would have noticed that something was wrong?"

"Ugh." Roderich slumped in his seat.

"You really don't like talking in front of people do you?" Gilbert gave him a curious glance.

"No. I hate it. I _detest_ public speaking." Roderich hissed.

"Oh hello." The principal wandered over to the right side of the stage, "And why would you have noticed?"

"Someone stood up." Gilbert sat up in surprise, "Whoa! You go, man!"

"Who, in their right mind, would have stood up?" Roderich whispered in disbelief.

"Because we're people of habit." The student repeated, "I honestly could not tell you their names, but I could tell you their absence would be obvious. I pass the same people every day to classes. I know who to expect in the hallway while I'm walking, because they always stand at the same spot, with the same people, every day."

"Oh. I guess they kind of do." Gilbert tilted his head, "Now that someone said that, I can remember that I see the same people on my way to class at what times."

"Really?" Roderich looked at him in surprise.

"Ja, you always have an argument with Elizaveta before second bell." Gilbert pointed at him with a grin.

"… You don't have to remember _that_." Roderich scowled.

"Thank you." The principal nodded his head to the student and returned to the center of the stage, "So one student… one person out of this entire room, would have noticed. That is… sad."

"Really sad." Gilbert agreed.

"So now I ask you…" The principal looked around the room from the center of the stage, "Not to remember what I said at the beginning of this… nor to remember what I said in the middle. But if you take nothing else from this room… remember what I am telling you now."

Roderich looked back at the stage, "Huh?"

"This has a long serious note to it that I don't like." Gilbert muttered.

"It is not possible for you to know every single person who is in this room, it's not. I'm not asking you to talk to every person in this room. I'm asking you… to pay attention. Pay attention to the people around you, no matter who they are. You may see someone on the way to your class, it may be someone you never talked to before… but remember, that may be the _only_ chance you have to talk to that person. Everyone who had their hands raised, who tried to end their lives early, could easily try again. Someone who has never tried could make an attempt… and they could succeed. And you will _never_ get that chance back."

"…" Roderich turned his head slowly to look at Gilbert, "… Is this about missed opportunities?"

"The only thing I'm getting out of this is: don't make excuses. Step out of the comfort zone." Gilbert made a face at the speaker on the stage.

"I tell you this… from a point of view that nearly lost that chance." The principal continued, "He was someone I went to college with… someone I didn't really get along with. He seemed… entirely too carefree to be a serious student."

"… Oh. Now we have to listen to a personal experience?" Roderich raised an eyebrow.

"Awesome." Gilbert settled into his seat again, "This'll get people thinking."

"He was never one that people thought would go places. He was the college student who enjoyed parties. For whatever reason that he had, I never bothered trying to figure it out. But I saw that person… become a father."

"…huh?" Gilbert blinked in confusion.

"Wasn't this about missed chances?" Roderich tilted his head.

"He had a child with someone who also enjoyed partying. And he dropped everything for that child. He left college to be a father."

"… What a nice person." Roderich whispered.

"This… sounds familiar for some reason." Gilbert blinked.

"What?" Roderich stared at him in surprise.

"Sounds like… someone mutti told me about maybe?" Gilbert tilted his head.

"But… the woman he married did not drop everything. She stayed in college, and was the same person she always was. She stayed out late, she went to parties."

"What a nice person." Roderich said sarcastically, "Honestly!"

"What kind of lady was that?" Gilbert whispered.

"He might as well have been a single parent." The principal shrugged, "But he raised his child… his son, even though he was by himself. Even though everyone he used to know, with the exception of two or three of his closest friends, kept asking him why. His answer was always the same… that there was no person alive that could ever take the place of his child."

"Awww…" Gilbert grinned, "He's so nice!"

"And despite everything she put him through… he still loved her. Despite the fact that she was never there to help him raise their son, she was never there around holidays, or birthdays… or any time… he still loved her."

"… That's really sad." Roderich whispered, "That poor man."

"He loved her… right up until about two months ago."

"… Uh… oh." Gilbert stared at the stage in horror, "Don't tell me…"

"This has a really bad ending doesn't it?" Roderich whispered.

"When she came to him with a child that wasn't his."

"Oh my word." Roderich buried his face in his hands.

"That poor man." Gilbert echoed Roderich's earlier words, "Gott! What kind of person does that?!"

"And that was when he tried." The principal shook his head, "He was in the hospital for… well over a month. … And then his son showed up. His son who lived… a good two or three hours away… showed up at the hospital."

"This had better have a good ending." Roderich scowled, "Because so help me if it doesn't…"

 _I'm kinda curious to know what he would do if it doesn't._ Gilbert gave Roderich a curious glance.

"And he changed his mind. Just from seeing his son again."

"Oh good." Roderich let out a sigh of relief.

"It's only thanks to his son, that I was able to reconnect with him. I found out he had completed his college degree after his son had moved away from home. He's… definitely more serious than when I had known him in college. I wouldn't say he's completely lost that carefree spirit of his… but I wouldn't say he's the same person either. …But I got that chance to talk to him again. Which is a chance that many people don't get."

Gilbert frowned and looked at the back of the seat in front of him. _… I wonder if I'll get the chance to talk to vati? Or Ludwig? Or Ardrich?_

"So keep that in mind… when you're going to your next class after this. That second chances are a rare opportunity, and that they are _never_ guaranteed."

.

.

* * *

Had to make the speech different somehow so readers aren't reading the same thing more than once. :D


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